Border Stars edge London City 2-1, TFC Academy nips CSL champs 1-0 Friday

2008-05-17

TFC Academy (red) held on to an early 1-0 lead

A winning goal by Windsor Border Stars defender Tom Stark at 29 minutes of the first half gave his side a narrow 2-1 victory over London City in a traditional season opener for both teams played in the southwestern Ontario community of LaSalle Saturday night.

The border team took the lead on a strike by Tom Eller at the 15^th minute mark and London’s Ibrihim Guzelbaba tied the score at 27 minutes.

London City were reduced to 10 men at 32 minutes when referee David Barrie showed Mark Evans a red card for violent conduct. It was a hard-fought second half as London attempted to get on even terms, but Windsor held the 2-1 lead to the final whistle.

 The two teams meet again in the return match at Cove Road, London on May 30, an 8.45 kickoff and the next CSL game is on Monday when Italia Shooters host 2007 CSL championship finalists Serbian White Eagles at Maple, just north of Toronto.

On Friday night, TFC Academy surprised the defending CSL champions Toronto Croatia with a 1-0 victory in the CSL season opener at Lamport Stadium in Toronto’s west end.

Playing with good pace and moving the ball like a team that has been together much longer than the actual just two weeks, the senior of two teams in the recently launched academy program of Toronto FC played with good purpose to hold on to an early 1-0 lead, scored after 8 minutes.

TFC Academy’s Domenic Roberts took a 40 yard free kick to set up the goal struck by Adrian Pena who beat Croatia goalkeeper Marko Culjak for what turned out to be the only goal of the game.

 The TFC team almost increased the lead 10 minutes later, striking the Croatia woodwork, and this was followed by Toronto Croatia almost tying at 39 minutes when Hugo Herrera found the net only to have the goal ruled offside.

TFC Academy is in their inaugural year in the CSL, whereas Toronto Croatia celebrated 50 years in Canadian soccer in 2006 and won the CSL title in 2007.

TFC Academy head coach Jason Bent appeared satisfied with his young side’s initial showing. “It was a good first game for us, we took a lot of positives out of the game. We have some things we need to work on, but in general a good first time out,” he said.

 Tom Granic, coach of Croatia was clearly surprised at the result: “We don’t have our full team yet, a few players missing, but also we were not quite up to it and that’s disappointing,” he conceded.

 Referee Isaac Raymond issued six yellow cards in the game, four to Croatia and two to the academy side. The opener was played before 853 fans, the first game played on the newly-resurfaced Toronto stadium.

TFC Academy will be back at the Lamport ground on May 23 for a game against St. Catharines Wolves, while Toronto Croatia will be at home to Portugal FC at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga the same day.

CSL coaches are the tops

2008-05-14

Eddie Edgar, coach of London City

If the CSL All Star team flops in its next game against visiting overseas opposition, it won’t be for the lack of top-notch qualified coaching.

There’s abundance in the Canadian Soccer League, which this season will have more technical talent on the bench than at any time during the past 40 years going back to the glory days of its forerunner National Soccer League.

It’s a reflection in recent times of an emphasis being placed by Canada’s only professional soccer league to reach for higher levels, technically and with the improving standard of play that is the CSL.

New names like Eddie Edgar (London City), Armando Costa (Brampton Lions), Milan Cancarevic (Serbian White Eagles), Jason Bent (TFC Academy) and Miroslav Buljan (Toronto Croatia), have recently joined  an already outstanding list of coaches to guide the 11 CSL teams through the 2008 season.  Rafael Carbajal (North York Astros), Pat Hilton (Windsor Border Stars), James McGilivary (St. Catharines Wolves), Marc Dos Santos (Trois-Rivieres Attak), Carmen Isacco (Italia Shooters) and Jose Testas (Portugal FC), are also top coaches by reputation and known previously with their respective CSL clubs.

Most have played professionally in at least one country. There are never-ending stories of interest and achievement.

Edgar, of Kitchener, Ontario and a former pro goalkeeper in England, coached his son David into the academy team of Newcastle Utd of that country’s Premier League and Portuguese-born Costa was commissioned seven years ago to be the personal coach of Al-Saadi Gahdaffi, son of Lybian leader Omar Gahdaffi.  Five years of coaching eventually established the player with Perugia, of the Italian Serie A.

Bent, from Brampton, Ontario, played internationally and with Major League Soccer and turned to coaching after playing with his last club, Plymouth Argyle of England’s Championship Division. He was a member of Canada’s memorable 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup winning team and is one of the very few players to have played at every level for Canada from U-17 through to the senior World Cup squad.

The CSL coaches appear to have spent as much time in the classroom as on the field of play, with an impressive no less than 11 UEFA certificates, various National A and B certificates issued in Canada, while others have Ontario and Quebec Provincial, USSF and CONMEBOL qualifications. Collectively, the CSL group of coaches is considered to be the most qualified of all Canadian leagues.

Dick Howard, a former professional goalkeeper who has served FIFA and CONCACAF in a technical capacity for many years, was impressed by the official CSL coaches list:" It is encouraging to see that clubs in the CSL are beginning to set standards with regards to the level of coaching. These quality coaches with good experience should result in improved levels of play this season," he said.

“We now have excellent, well qualified coaches throughout our league and as a result I believe the sharp upturn in the quality of CSL games will continue,” said Cary Kaplan, the league’s commissioner.

CSL Press Conference sets Friday kickoff

2008-05-13

Good sports, left to right, the CSL's Stan Adamson, and commissioner Cary Kaplan, OSA president John Knox and FIFA man Dick Howard give a new season sendoff.

The Canadian Soccer League is ready for kickoff following a well-attended media conference at the BMO Field, the home of Toronto FC Tuesday.

A highlight of the media gathering was the introduction of two academy teams from the local MLS club, with the senior academy team set to play in the National Division and a TFC Academy team in the CSL's Reserve Division.

The league formation consists of seven teams in the National Division and four in the International Division. There will be six teams in the newly-launched Reserve Division.

The league also revealed a 'CSL Respect and Fair Play' campaign to stem the increasing dissent toward the game officials. The league expressed concern about the increasing opposition to the referee's decisions, both in the CSL and soccer in general and that the number of red and yellow cards, together with incidents of referee abuse and the conduct of team officials will be tracked.

The aim will be to acknowledge and award the teams with the best record.

Commissioner Cary Kaplan announced a dramatic increase in the standard of coaching in the CSL, that the impressive list of team coaches will mean an even higher standard of play.

He said also that a concerted effort is underway to open a regional CSL in western Canada in the CSL's pursuit of  its mandate of expansion.

The CSL opener is set for Friday, May 16 when new team TFC Academy will host last year's CSL champions, Toronto Croatia, an 8 pm kickoff at the newly re-surfaced 9,000-seat Lamport Stadium in Toronto's west-end.

CSL Try-out Action at Esther Shiner Stadium
2008-04-18

Pre-season exhibitions begin April 26

The Canadian Soccer League has announced a series of pre-season exhibition games involving six Toronto area teams to be played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York April 26 to May 18.

These games will include players on trial and seeking a place for the upcoming 2008 season.  The games will be all double headers.

$5 admission fee per double header.

 All Games To Be Played At Esther Shiner Stadium

April 26	6:30pm 8:30pm	Serbian White Eagles vs. Italia Shooters Brampton Lions F.C. vs. North York Astros
April 27	5:00pm 6:30pm	Toronto Croatia vs. Italia Shooters Serbian White Eagles vs. Portugal F.C.
May 3	2:00pm 4:00pm	Portugal F.C. vs. Toronto Croatia Brampton Lions F.C. vs. Italia Shooters
May 4	2:00pm 4:00pm	Serbian White Eagles vs. North York Astros Portugal F.C. vs. Italia Shooters
May 10	3:00pm 5:00pm	Portugal F.C. vs. North York Astros Serbian White Eagles vs. Brampton Lions F.C.
May 11	2:00pm 4:00pm	Italia Shooters vs. North York Astros Brampton Lions F.C. vs. Toronto Croatia
May 18	1:00pm 3:00pm	Brampton Lions F.C. vs. Portugal F.C. Toronto Croatia vs. North York Astros

CSL appoints Tony Camacho chief referee

2008-04-09

Tony Camacho

Tony Camacho, one of Canada’s top referees through the 1990s, has been appointed the Director of Officials in the Canadian Soccer League.

Camacho’s appointment follows a number of applications from former referees and those still active to fill a vacancy created late 2007.

Camacho, a native of Portugal who came to Canada in 1972, became one of Canada’s top officials after being awarded the FIFA badge in 1992. He was on international duty for seven years, handling games involving some of the top soccer countries.

In Canada, he was assigned to the Canada Games in Kamloops in 1993 and in Brandon in 1997 and refereed six CIAU National Championships. In the United States, he received appointments to the prestigious Dallas Cup and USA Cup tournaments. He has for 11 years been an instructor for the Ontario Soccer Association and for six years a referee assessor for the Canadian Soccer Association.

“We are delighted that Tony Camacho has joined the CSL, given his exceptional background and his considerable experience. He is so well-known and highly respected in Canadian soccer,” said Stan Adamson, the CSL’s executive director.

Adamson also acknowledges the work and valuable contribution of Walter Kirchner, the CSL’s director of officials who stepped down at the end of 2007 and who has a long history in Ontario soccer going back to the National Soccer League. He, with Hugh Elliott, also a former referee in Ontario, has been responsible for the league’s match appointments.

TFC Academy in CSL schedule

2008-03-29

TFC Academy in CSL

The top Toronto FC Academy team, TFC Academy, will play a full schedule of 22 games against all 10 teams of the CSL through the 2008 season.

The newest MLS franchise pledged several months ago to launch an academy program that would help support the growth and development of Canadian soccer.

In announcing the addition of TFC Academy to the CSL season, CSL Commissioner Cary Kaplan said he was thrilled to have the team competing in his league. "Toronto FC has built a powerful sports brand in a very short time in Toronto, and has done wonders for the growth of soccer in this region. The CSL is pleased to establish a relationship with Toronto FC, and looks forward to being instrumental in the development of some of Canada's great young talent. The games between TFC Academy and the CSL clubs are sure to be exciting.”

Paul Beirne, Toronto FC Director of Business Operations, explained his club’s reason for selecting the CSL as the league in which the academy team will play. “The goal of Toronto FC is, of course, to one day hoist the MLS Cup but another goal has always been to have an indelible mark of the soccer landscape in Canada, and specifically Ontario. It is our hope that Toronto FC not only be the aspirational choice for young soccer players in Canada, but an academy that has a real effect on the development of young, talented players. When we needed to find a league that would test the mettle of the best players in the academy we wanted something that would test them technically, physically, and tactically – after all, in most countries in the world, U18s are in professional environments – but at the same time wouldn’t jeopardize their amateur status and the CSL was an ideal fit.”

Guy Bradbury, the chief executive officer for the Ontario Soccer Association has expressed his pleasure at Toronto FC Academy team becoming a member of the CSL. “The co-operative relationship between TFC Academy and the Canadian Soccer League is a model for the improvement and development of soccer in Ontario and Canada. This initiative should be applauded as it provides the opportunity for the Academy players to compete at a high level while at the same time it will showcase the standards of the CSL”, he explained.

The CSL will kickoff its new season on May 16, with regular season games through to early October. The playoffs will follow and the CSL Championship game will be played late October.

Attak-Impact exhibitions set for 2008
2008-03-17


Trois-Rivieres Attak will meet Montreal Impact of the USL First Division in three exhibition games during the upcoming season, with one game scheduled for the newly-constructed Saputo Stadium in the Olympic Park in Montreal.

The first game will be played at Trois-Rivieres on May 23, the second at Quebec City on August 2 and the game scheduled for the Saputo Stadium will be played on August 10.

The teams have met just once previously, the Impact winning 4-0 on April 13, 2007.

 Tony Iannitto, president of Trois-Rivieres Attak was pleased with the prospect of his team playing three exhibition games with Montreal Impact, considered to be one of the stronger teams in North America. “These games will be great to contribute to the development of our young players, who are Impact prospects. By watching players from both teams, young soccer players will further aspire to play at a high level. The games are important if we want soccer to gain in popularity,” he said.

Trois-Rivieres Attak earlier announced the signing of Nicolas Lesage, the CSL’s MVP and top goalscorer in 2007. Lesage played in all 28 games for the Attak last season, scoring 20 goals to play a big part in the Impact reserve team’s highly successful inaugural season in the CSL. Francois Boivin and Pierre-Rudolph Mayard signed last month and Guillaume Barrette and the Attak reached a contract agreement at the beginning of March.